Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt's daughter takes final step to change name
Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt is one step closer to removing Pitt from her last name.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's 21-year-old daughter has completed a California law's requirement of publishing her name change petition in a local newspaper of general circulation for four consecutive weeks within 45 days of the initial filing, according to documents reviewed by USA TODAY.
Zahara Jolie-Pitt, who began the process to change her last name in June, indicated the notice ran in the Los Angeles Daily Journal on June 16, June 23, June 30 and July 7. If there is no objection from the public, a judge can officially approve the request at Zahara's upcoming Sept. 28 hearing.
The former couple's daughter has seemingly gone by the shortened surname prior to taking legal action. In 2024, she introduced herself without including Pitt in her last during an event for her sorority at Spelman College, according to a video posted by Essence.
At her recent May 17 graduation, a social media video showed the announcer reading her name as Zahara Marley Jolie as she walked across the stage for the ceremony.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's children change their names
Pitt, 62, and Jolie, 51, share six children in total – Maddox, 24; Pax, 22; Zahara, 21; Shiloh, 20; and 17-year-old twins Vivienne and Knox – and Zahara is not the first to change her last name.
Shiloh filed change her name from Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt to Shiloh Nouvel Jolie on her 18th birthday in May 2024. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge, granted the request three months later.
In April, Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt filed to change his name to Maddox Chivan Jolie, citing "personal" reasons. This came shortly after he made headlines for dropping his father's surname from the credits in Jolie's movie "Couture," on which he served as an assistant director.
The "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" stars began dating in 2005 and married in 2014, before the Jolie filed for divorce in 2016. The tumultuous proceedings included a yearslong legal battle over custody disputes and control of their French vineyard Château Miraval.
In an October 2022 filing, the "Maleficent" actress accused Pitt of attacking her and their children just days before she filed for divorce. Jolie alleged in part that her ex grabbed her "by the head and shook her, and then grabbed her shoulders and shook her again before pushing her into the bathroom wall," while on a flight from Chateau Miraval in France to California.
Pitt denied the allegations, and the FBI later declined to pursue an investigation or charges after looking into the incident.
In January 2025, the former couple officially reached a divorce settlement.
Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt's daughter takes final step to change name
Reporting by Liza Esquibias, USA TODAY / USA TODAY
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This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 1:43 PM.